Shadow Empire

Chapter 1158 Whitewashing, Urban Development, and Daughter-in-Law

After all five people were seated, Mr. Clark took the initiative to start.

His nickname was "Mr. Congressman," and compared to those gang leaders with vicious nicknames, he looked more like a normal person.

Actually, the other three people all looked like normal people.

Once a person gains power and status, they come into contact with people at a higher level, and naturally they will detach themselves from the lower class. This is the transformation that occurs during the process of upward mobility.

Mr. Clark glanced at the people around him, then turned to Lance and said, "We all heard you talk about Porter's campaign in the room earlier. Actually, the purpose of this meeting is to find a way to unite everyone."

"We just don't have any experience in this area, and now that you've brought it up, we'd like to hear your advice."

As the pinnacle of federal organized crime, they naturally have a long-term vision.

Mr. Porter's repeated mentions of degangsterization during his campaign are also something they are worried about. This FBI operation against the Perez family can be seen as a targeted exercise, a test.

Mr. Porter and the other high-ranking federal officials should have realized by now that the mob is not as terrible as they imagined.

By simply concentrating the power of the federal government, these gangs could be easily crushed in our hands.

Some people might lower their guard against gangs a little because of this, but there are also people like Mr. Porter who use this simple method to deal with the public after winning the election.

Mr. Clark and his ilk didn't know what to do; the only thing they could do was try to stick together and support each other.

After listening to what he said, Lance thought for a moment.

"From my personal perspective, de-gangsterization is actually the right path for development."

"I think what we should do now is to break down the terms 'gangster,' 'faction,' 'violence,' and 'crime' that are unique to us and put them out one by one."

"Society's tolerance for crime will only decrease. Right now, you may be engaged in some criminal businesses and not feel there's anything wrong with it, but the public will be afraid to do anything to you because you are a gang."

"But society is always developing, and in the process of development, everything will gradually change. People's demands on society, and the federal government's demands on society, will continue to increase."

"People can tolerate gangsters swaggering around on the streets now, but that doesn't mean they can do that in the future."

"So we need to adapt to these things in advance."

"Of all the gangs I know and have ever been to, Bandi is probably the one who sees the furthest in this regard, but unfortunately, although he sees it, he's not very smart."

Bandi was the most proactive person Lance knew in clearing his name, but he went down the wrong path.

Going legit is not the same as becoming a dog. If becoming a dog could make you go legit, these gangs, especially the five major families, would have gone legit long ago!
Stephen (the youngest of the five major family gang leaders) interjected at this moment, "Mr. Lance, could you elaborate?"

“We are indeed facing these problems and feeling confused. I see something in you that we don’t have, which will be a very valuable experience for us. I hope you can give us some pointers, considering that we are both gangsters.”

Stephen is still young, loves making movies, and has graduated from college. He has his own ideas. If it weren't for his damn father suddenly losing his ability to take care of himself, he might have become an excellent producer and embarked on a different path by now.

But there are no "what ifs" in this world; he is now a gang leader.

As someone who has attended university and is open to new things, he is more receptive to Lance's ideas than Kevin, who is much older and always reminiscing about the past.

In his view, gangs are just a "business," and making money is the most important thing. Violence is just a low-level means they use when they lack other ways to make money.

If he could make money without resorting to violence, Stephen believed he could implement a comprehensive reform of the Fisher family based on Lance's experience and advice.

Anyway, his old father was already bedridden and unable to move, so he was now in charge of the entire family.

Everyone else's eyes were also fixed on Lance, who considered it for a moment.

If he were the only remaining member of the entire Federation, he would inevitably become a thorn in the side of some.

All the other gangs have fallen, and only the Lance family remains standing. Although they may not have any concrete evidence to prove that Lance himself is involved in crimes or remotely directs crimes, sometimes not everything requires evidence.

Evidence is needed now because Senator Cleveland is protecting him, but when he becomes a thorn in everyone's side, even Senator Cleveland will willingly become the one to bring him down.

After a brief moment of consideration, Lance smiled and said, "Actually, this is quite simple. All we need to do is make sure they can't find any evidence."

"If you've paid attention to the Lance family's development model, you'll find that in this city, we never harm ordinary people, so ordinary people support us very much."

"This means that we have a foundation among the people, a foundation of mutual trust. We trust them, and they trust us."

“When we encounter problems, these people will not stand against us.”

“You may think that these ordinary people will not have any impact on your criminal career, but in reality, when they stand in court as testimony based on rumors they have heard, everything will become very bad.”

"Now, we should cut ties with criminal businesses as soon as possible, such as protection money, extortion, etc., as the returns are not high and the risks are too great."

"Finish off any potentially risky cases as soon as possible, find someone to take the blame, and always go through the legal process, whether it's a fast-track court or a formal trial, there must be a complete procedure."

"Only in this way can those people not use these things to cause you trouble in the future."

The "superiority" of the federal judiciary lies here: once a case is closed and a final judgment is made by the court, even if problems are later discovered, the case cannot be reopened.

This is also why many highly intelligent federal criminals can escape legal punishment after committing crimes. They try to force the prosecutor's office or law enforcement agencies to bring them to court when there is insufficient evidence to convict them, and then win the case as the end of everything.

Lance told them to clean up their messes and say goodbye to their family's criminal activities as soon as possible, which would minimize the chances of being investigated in the future.

Pablo, who had been silent until now, finally asked, "If we completely cut ourselves off from crime and violence, how can we guarantee our safety?"

Pablo is a middle-aged man in his fifties, an age that is considered elderly in the federal government and even worldwide.

It's important to know that the average life expectancy in the Federal Republic is only in the early fifties; only those with comfortable living conditions can live longer.

In places like Asia, the average life expectancy is less than fifty years.

However, Pablo doesn't look old at all; on the contrary, he appears very energetic and looks only a little over forty years old. That's the benefit of money.

Money can't buy you personal time, but it can slow down the aging process in people.

"There is no contradiction. Violence does not necessarily mean crime. What I mean by distancing ourselves from violence is to avoid using gangster methods to handle ordinary matters as much as possible."

"When you encounter something you can't avoid, just do it cleanly."

Although he didn't say anything, the four people in the room immediately thought of the two brothers who had disappeared that day.

The body may have already been disposed of, the scene has been cleaned up, there were no witnesses, and the murder weapon could not be found. Strictly speaking, there is indeed no way to prosecute someone who is protected by law and legal procedures.

This is Lance's most reliable "shield" at present, and everything must comply with the procedures.

He had a brief chat with these people. For gangsters, no matter what business they do now, nothing is more profitable than selling alcohol.

Maple Leaf Grass is quite profitable, but the industry is very narrow, and Lance has no intention of getting involved with it. Even though some experts say that people won't develop a strong dependence on Maple Leaf Grass, he doesn't believe them.

If those powerful figures were to realize that their next generation was being controlled by Maple Leaf Grass, then whoever provided Maple Leaf Grass to their next generation would become their mortal enemy.

Those fools in the Perez family don't understand this principle, but Lance does.

Apart from that, only alcohol and sex are the most profitable, and these don't necessarily have to involve crime.

Setting up a modeling agency is not a crime at all. Even if it is considered a crime, it is only a minor offense, not a serious one.

Lance and the others benefited greatly from what they said, including the old man Kevin, who also believed that his family needed a series of reforms.

However, this is destined to be a long process. These large families are like large ships sailing in a narrow channel. If they just go forward along the river, it will be very easy.

But if they want to turn around, it probably won't be that simple.

The following morning, Lance declined visits from several people and went directly to see Mayor Williams.

After some time, I hadn't seen the old man, and he looked even older.

By the standards of the average lifespan of a Federation citizen, he had lived to the age of one and a half Federation citizens, in his late seventies and early eighties. He was not confused, and looked younger than his peers, but he was old nonetheless.

His movements began to slow down, and his reactions became somewhat sluggish.

"...As you can see now, I've been trying very hard to keep up with my work and life, but my body and my mind don't agree with me doing so."

He leaned back slightly in his chair, not sitting up straight, but rather reclining, his hands supporting him on the armrests to prevent his body from sliding further down.

To be honest, his posture is a little inappropriate, but considering he is an old man, who can be so demanding of him?

He wore glasses, and his face was somewhat gaunt. When a person's cheeks become gaunt, they show signs of fatigue.

He glanced at James sitting next to him and said, "James has helped me with a lot of things at work during this period. If we only consider what he has done, then he is actually a qualified mayor now."

"Especially since the beginning of this year, my energy has not been as good as before, and I have handed over a lot of work to him."

James then humbly responded, "It was under my father's tutelage that I accomplished some work for the city hall."

In fact, he was older than Lance, over forty years old, but in front of Lance, he seemed like the youngest person, speaking and even looking very cautiously.

This was a statement expressing his respect for Lance and his readiness to take over the entire city.

Lance nodded. "That's a good thing. I remember you're forty-three years old, James, aren't you?"

“Forty-four years old!” James corrected.

When Lance first heard the name, James was in his early thirties, and Lance was only eighteen at the time, but now he is in his early thirties.

Time flies by so quickly, bringing people into this world in a flash and making them grow old just as fast. Before they can even appreciate the beauty of time and the world, time has already slipped away from them.

Lance also remarked with some emotion, "This is a good time. Experience, knowledge, wisdom, learning ability—everything is at its best."

"I have no objection to your candidacy for the next mayor, and I will fully support you in taking office."

Lance gave a positive response, which finally made Mayor Williams breathe a sigh of relief. Although he already knew the outcome before talking to Lance, he was completely relaxed when he heard it with his own ears.

He believed Lance more than those politicians who talked big and then denied it.

"You should thank Lance for his support of your work," he commented briefly.

James immediately stood up to express his gratitude to Lance, even bowing slightly – that's the beauty of power.

When Mayor Williams first approached Lance, Lance was just a nobody, and he didn't even take Lance seriously.

But now, whether his son can sit in the seat he's currently in isn't up to him; it requires Lance's approval, even though they're in the same interest group.

Lance gestured for him to sit down, “The work here in Golden Harbor City is actually very simple. As long as we continue to develop the city’s economy at the current pace, there will be no problem. I believe that our local capitalists will be very willing to continue to invest in this area and make the city better and better.”

"I recently heard them make an interesting claim, saying that they want to use Jingang City to create a central city in the south?"

This wasn't something that came from Jin Gang City; it came from the state government of Likalai.

Terry has been doing a good job as governor, and local interest groups have already formed alliances and begun to cooperate. In places unseen by the public, chains of interest are firmly binding some people to Lance's fast-moving chariot.

Naturally, they also wanted to continue expanding their team and strengthening their capabilities, so they needed to come up with something new to keep the state's economy in a state of rapid growth.

A mature interest group does not constantly leech off others; it also needs to learn how to nurture others.

Like shepherds, they raise lambs until they are fully grown before eating them, rather than when they are young.

The establishment of a new southern center is currently just a slogan, but it is essentially an attempt to push things forward.

As to whether "Southern Heart" refers to a city or a state, there is currently no definitive conclusion.

If Jingang City continues to expand, then Xigu City will definitely be annexed. Moreover, if the urban area continues to expand westward, the new urban planning of the past few years will have to be changed again.

This is not an easy task, especially in the new industrial zone. The factories there have been working for so long and have finally settled down. Now that they are being asked to move out, they certainly won't be happy about it.

If they are unwilling to move, then the city will have to connect with the industrial zone, and people will have to live under industrial pollution again.

Therefore, Lance felt that... if they insisted on building this "new center" in Golden Harbor City, it might not actually be a good thing.

The three quickly began discussing government-related matters. At this moment, Lance didn't seem like a gang leader at all, but rather a seasoned politician discussing national affairs.

After chatting until noon, Lance accepted Mayor Williams' invitation to have a sumptuous lunch at his estate.

At the manor, Lance also saw his future "daughter-in-law," who was James's daughter.

James is a handsome middle-aged man, and his wife is also very beautiful. Although it is a political marriage, one should not have any misunderstandings about the appearance and figure of a girl from a powerful family.

With these families continuously improving their genes for generations, it's hard to find people who are ugly; almost everyone is beautiful.

With such excellent genes, the offspring will naturally be very beautiful.

The little girl was just over two years old, a bit younger than Ace. She had platinum blonde hair and a very cute face.

Lance hugged the little girl, marking their first informal meeting.

(End of this chapter)